The Kid In Me Comes Out...And The Clothes Come Off!

I did something tonight that I haven't done in ages.

I played in the rain.

Sort of.

We had terrific storms pass through this evening. Wind gusts. Lightening. Rain.

Then it sort of settled down. It got quiet.

I spent part of my day putting my classroom back in order...sans air conditioning... it's out. I came home a sweaty mess. I immediately dove into all of the work that I brought home to do. About 5 hours worth. Made myself some dinner. Then headed out to pick M up at work.

It was raining. A steady, light rain.

While waiting for her to come out, I stuck my head and arm out of the window. Watching the soft, tender rain drops fall on my salty, sticky skin.

I got an idea.

After getting home, I walked right out to the back patio. Pealed off my rank clothes of sweaty labor of the day and walked out into my dark, grassy yard. Laid down. And let the rain drops fall.

Plopping. Soft. Wet. Drippy. Cool. Rythymic. Soothing. Calming. Natural. Clean.

Yup... today I did something that I haven't done in a long time.

I played in the rain.

On The Rise

Are you ready for it?

Oh, it's been a month since last time, you know.

Where are your binoculars? Your camera? Your honey??

Tonight, there will be a full moon rising. This one is the Full Buck Moon. The reason it's named that is because July is the month when the new antlers of buck deer push through their upper foreheads. These new antlers are covered in a soft, velvety fur. July's full moon is often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the simple reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Case in point, our monsoon season. Another name sometimes associated with this moon is the Full Hay Moon.

So find your binoculars, your camera, your honey (no, I don't mean the kind that I drizzle in my coffee..!) and go watch one of Nature's movies! It's free!

Food for Thought

It's one of those nights when I'm home alone. M is at work and I find myself dining solo. I find that I tend to treat myself very well sometimes when this situation comes around.

Today I spent the majority doing nothing. A purely decadent thing to do. I did do laundry, bills, pick up the house, etc. I went for my walk with dear Ross, and we came home a sweaty mess from the humidity. Storms were dancing all around to the north and east. Gray skies taunting the dry desert.

I made a trip to the grocery store and selected a top sirloin steak for moi for my dinner. Now lately, I've been craving beef. Have to have beef. Want my beef!! (if you're a vegetarian, you'll want to check out your horoscope now, probably) Olive oil, dried rosemary, salt and cracked pepper slathered both sides of my steak - while I went to work on my salad. Now, I've become quite fond of this salad... Caprece Salad. It's made of sliced tomotoes, fresh mozarella (ok, can I just say how much I LOVE Costco for carrying 'logs' of this fabulous cheese??!) and fresh basil leaves. Drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and pepper, it happily sat in its glory while I grilled up my steak to perfection.

Alice White from Australia made a visit (no, not a friend, but a wonderful white wine) for dinner, as well. It all made for a wonderful meal!

What meal do you prepare for yourself when you celebrate you?

In Remembrance...

Do you stand at my grave and weep?

I am not there.I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond's glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there ..... I did not die.

In remembrance of the Phoenix police office and flight crews of our two news stations who lost their lives yesterday. May God bless those brave men, their families, friends and coworkers.

I'm in a 'Fall Frenzy' !!

Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's because I go back to school next week. Maybe it's because summer seams so long here in the desert. Maybe it's because it's the next season to be. Maybe it's because it is my favorite season of all.

I want Fall!

The other day I meandered into a lovely Hallmark store. And sure enough, there was a little display of some fall items. I found these little porcelain acorn boxes - and knew that I had to acquire a couple! So with purchase in hand, I came home and dragged out my scrapping paper. Sure enough, memory had served me right... I had some paper with oak leaves and acorns on it. Some of my favorite things!! I had a plan in mind!


I carefully cut out the leaves and acorns - little bits ready for the next step. Next, I wrote on the back of each 'bit', a blessing for my ya-ya. I was taking the lead from the inscription inside the acorn lid.



..each blessing was specific...for a child, their marriage, themselves....I carefully tucked each 'blessing bit' inside their acorn.


Now, to wrap them.
Oh!

How perfect is this??
'Autumn' napkins from a project that my ya-ya's and I did a year ago. Perfect! I think I'll wrap the little acorns up in these and tie with a raffia bow!


These stamps should come in handy for my tags... speaking of which....










distressing some office tags for that perfect little whimsy attached to the bags....






This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I bought the sweet little french hanger the other day... but does it not work perfectly with my tiered plate holder as a little drying rack for my tags?? Hehe... Oh yes, that's 'Martha' on the tube in the background - making cake!





Now... to wrap them up!











Tucked into their little autumn bags...


I'm off to meet my ya-ya's... and pretend to be the 'Fall Fairy' as we sip margaritas and swelter in 105 degree heat! Ahhh.... the seasons of the desert!